


Rebellion Avenue

by manekinekoboi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:56:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7031818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manekinekoboi/pseuds/manekinekoboi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fukunaga Shouhei played the violin when he was 5 years old. Both of his parents were musicians and they wanted him to the play violin so that he can be accepted into a good music school someday and perform with the orchestras around the world. This wasn’t what he wanted to do, but he wanted to please his parents so he practiced diligently. Then one day in his first year in high school, he met another violinist from a different school, Ennoshita Chikara, during one of the competitions. His views on music and how it can be played changes from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I didn’t mind music. No I like music. I just didn’t like the violin that much. I wanted to play another instruments like the guitar or cello, but my parents suggested a violin when I was 5. I didn’t have much to object back then, especially since both of my parents were musicians themselves. Dad was a pianist and Mom was a violinist herself. Both taught music lessons at the Tokyo College of Music, and in the summer they will hold summer classes in the local high school. They learned very quickly that I hated the piano, but I liked playing with strings, so they told me a violin would work so my mother could teach me. Ever since then I practiced violin with Mom while Dad would teach me music theory and how to read sheet music. Both were boring, but it gave me an excuse to spend time with my parents so I didn’t mind.

As the years progressed, I learned to enjoy playing the violin. Sometimes practice can be a little gruesome, especially since I had to practice not only in school with a bunch of other students, but also at home. After a while, I got used to it. Playing the violin sometimes helped me forget about the daily stresses of life like exams. I was a decent student with decent grades, but they were definitely not the best in class. I was a little bit above average and that was enough for me.

The high school I ended up attending had competitions as well as school performances so the semesters were always busy. I’d come home after a few long hours of practice, and then come home to study and practice a little bit more. My life was literally “Eat. Practice violin. Study. Sleep.” Nothing more, nothing less.  

***********

The first night of the competition was very nerve wracking. Everyone had mixed emotions regarding this orchestra. After many relentless hours of practice we should’ve felt prepared for this, but of course, none of us did.

“Fukunaga! This is our first competition man!” screams Yamamoto Taketora who was part of the brass instrument section of the orchestra, “How do you compose yourself? Aren’t you a little nervous?!”

I nod my head meekly, “A little…” I manage to answer.

“Yamamoto! Stop being so loud! We’re all nervous around here and you’re not making it any better!” scolds the second year Yaku Morisuke who was in the woodwind section.

“Yaku-san, it’s okay…” I try to assure him, but he was already scolding Yamamoto before I could say anything else. _Everyone is definitely nervous tonight…I better use the bathroom before the competition starts._ I thought to myself as I sneak out of the assigned room to use one of the closest bathrooms I could find.

On my way out, I notice a group of students walking by from another school. I didn’t know which school, but their black uniforms were not like our red ones that’s for sure. I enter the bathroom and splash my face with cold water. My father told me doing this will help calm the nerves, but it didn’t seem to do any good. It just made my face wet and cold. I sigh heavily and grab a few paper towels to dry my face. Suddenly I hear a toilet flush behind me, and out comes the guy from the stall, whose dark hair was parted more to the left side of his face and heavy dark eyes. He takes the sink next to me to wash his hands,

“The ‘Cold water’ method huh? You nervous?” he asks me candidly. I simply nod my head. _Who does this guy think he is?_ I want to say, but I keep my mouth shut. The other guy must’ve noticed the expression on my face, “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I’m just as nervous, maybe even more than you…I hate competitions.” He admits timidly. Poor guy did look more nervous than I did. I felt a bit empathetic for the kid.

“You’ll be fine. In an orchestra, you won’t be alone.” I assure him, not really knowing what else to say to him make feel better about the situation.

The other boy laughs and smiles, “Ah you’re right. Thanks.” He finishes drying his hands and walks to the door, “Good luck.” He tells me and leaves the bathroom before I could anything to him (which seems to be a recurrent theme of my life). I throw away the used paper towels and walk back to the band room before the actual competition begins.

***********

The competition ended well. My school was the second school to compete. Once we were done, we exit the stage as the curtains closed before us. In between the third school would fill the stage and would be ready to perform.

“That turned out extraordinarily well.” Yaku tells me as we place our instruments back in our cases. I nod my head. I was glad that this competition was over for now. Yaku grabs my by the shoulder and says to me, “We should watch the next school play. I heard they are really good! Let’s go Fukunaga!”

I follow him backstage. We can’t be too close, but it was close enough to hear them play. The curtains lift up and the audience begins to clap. What I heard from there was a stunning play of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. Even though I have heard that symphony over a hundred times throughout my short lifetime, the air felt different. The way the notes played throughout the symphony was incredible. Once that was over the audience gave a standing ovation.

“Wow…that was amazing!” I hear Yaku exclaim, for both of us were clapping for the school with a few others not that far from us who were also watching the performance. That was truly amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case this wasn't clarified very well, this entire story is on Fukunaga's POV.  
> I hope you like this so far. :)


	2. Chapter 2

The school finished playing their two symphonies and the last school to perform fills the stage. Yaku had to leave backstage to check up on the other second years while I stayed behind. I watch the third school leave and notice one of the violinists. _Ah that guy from earlier!_ I thought as I watch him walk backstage. He looks up at me and walks his way to me.

“Hey, I didn’t know you played the violin. Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” he asks me with a grin on his face.

“You didn’t ask…” I mumble as I was too stunned to say anything properly because I wasn’t expecting this kid to come to me. Most people would forget about me since I was what Yamamoto calls a “wallflower” but I didn’t mind. This was the first person who actually remembered me after such short interaction.

The other guy laughs, “Hahaha, you’re right. I didn’t ask you. Well anyway, my name is Ennoshita Chikara. I’m a first year. Thanks for your encouragement earlier.” Ennoshita bows to me and extends his hand out for a handshake. I bow back and accept the greeting,

“Fu…Fukunaga Shouhei. I’m a first year too.” I reply and give him a small smile right back. Ennoshita was a really nice guy. Too bad that we don’t go to the same school together. I was kind of disappointed with that thought, but it was true. I wanted to know more about him, but before I could ask anything else I was interrupted.

“Ennoshita, the maestro is calling for us!” Someone calls out in the distance.

“Coming Narita! Well, I have to go. May the best school win Fukunaga-san! See you around at the end of this competition.” Ennoshita says to me with a wave of his hand and turns around to his school mates. I wave right back. Well I guess I’ll see him later.

“Who’s that?” Yamamoto asks me out of the blue which made me jump,

“That…that was Ennoshita. He is a violinist as well.” I tell him. Yamamoto gives him a look as if he was scrutinizing the kid in the distance. “He’s a nice guy.” I assure him, but I knew I couldn’t stop him. Yamamoto tends to watch over me like Yaku does, except his is more out of intimidation. I’d like to think of him as a loyal pit-bull dog, but I never told him that.

“Alright Fukunaga, if you say so man. We better go back too. The competition is almost over anyway.” He says and drags me back to the room. I didn’t mind though, because I was too happy to finally meet someone who recognized me despite the short talk we had.

As we enter the room I see Yaku and a few others handing out water bottles. He sees us and hands us water bottles as well, “You guys did a great job keeping your composure, especially you Yamamoto. You were screaming earlier!” he jokes at him. Yamamoto doesn’t say anything to fight back because he was right,

“Thanks for the water Yaku senpai.” He says curtly, but Yaku ignores the remark and turns his attention to me.

“You look pretty happy Fukunaga. Are you relieved that this competition is over?” he laughs. I laugh with him and nod my head. “Well it looks like the last school finished their performance. We better get going.” He tells us and we grab our instrument cases to appear on stage.

*****************

As expected, Ennoshita’s school won the competition. Everyone applauds for his school. I run up to find him until I see him, “Congratulations Ennoshita-san!” I say. He was taken aback at first, but he gives me his warm smile again and laughs,

“Thank you Fukunaga-san. You guys were great too! I can’t wait to compete with you again next time.” He takes out a small piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me, “This is my number. We should meet up sometime after school.” He tells me. I take the paper from him and smile brightly,

“Th-Thank you Ennoshita-san! I’ll definitely text you!” I exclaim.

He laughs and pats me on the shoulder, “I’m looking forward to it. See you again Fukunaga-san.” He waves at me and walks back to his school. Once he was out of sight, I took out my phone and saved him in my contacts list.

Not only did he recognize me after our short talk in the bathroom, but he also gave me his number and accepted me as a friend. Life couldn’t get any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters are on the way.  
> I love EnnoFuku so much can you tell?


	3. Chapter 3

“Shou-chan! You did a wonderful job tonight! We’re so proud of you!” Mom calls to me as I walk back to the car with my parents. I smile,

“Thanks mom.” I tell her happily as we get into the car and drive back home. I text Ennoshita on the drive there, but I wasn’t expecting any quick replies. Most people, I came to realize, don’t normally text me back from few hours to the next day, so I my expectations of instant replies are zero (unless it was Yaku reminding me that practice was scheduled on certain days). However, I felt my phone vibrate and check to see who messaged me. To my surprise it was Ennoshita.

_(Ennoshita) Fukunaga! I’m glad you messaged me! How’s everything?_

I text him right back:

_(Fukunaga) Going well. About to head home. You?_

I hit the send button and wait for him to reply. For some strange reason seeing that he messaged me back quickly made me even happier than I already was. My phone vibrates again:

_(Ennoshita) On the bus back to the school. I got a lot of studying to do tonight._

I laugh to myself as I reply back:

_(Fukunaga) Ah, test coming up? Good luck Ennoshita-san, you got this._

I’m not exactly sure if he gets test anxiety but considering how he was during the competition I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him encouragement. He seems to appreciate that though because he replied back with:

_(Ennoshita) Thanks. You’re always encouraging me. Lol_

Well he seem to catch on pretty quick I thought as we kept texting each back and forth till I got home. I didn’t have to practice violin today since I just came back from competition, so for the rest of the evening until both of us were ready to sleep, we messaged each other back and forth. Ennoshita was a really nice guy and I was glad that we became friends.

******************

“You seem lively these days Fukunaga.” Kenma tells me one day when I walk into class. It has been about a week or two since the competition ended and Ennoshita and I were still keeping in touch. Kenma doesn’t seem to be the only one who noticed my little joy,

“Hey are you still talking to that kid we met the other day?” Yamamoto asks me. I nod my head.

“Who?”

“Fukunaga met a guy from another school on our competition. What was his name again? Ennoshita Chikara? Something like that right?” Yamamoto asks me for clarification. I simply nod my head again.

“Good for you.” Kenma tells me as he goes back to playing his PSP. Kenma was a very observant guy like me, but he’s somewhat more social than I was. It’s most likely thanks to his close neighbor Kuroo though, who was a second year. I see them walk to and from school together since they live a few blocks from the school.

The PSP game that Kenma was playing caught Yamamoto’s attention, and the conversation regarding my friendship with another school mate ended. I didn’t mind though. I went back to my assigned seat and began writing a few thoughts in my little notebook. Most of it were a bunch of lames jokes that pop up in my head when I think of them, but I still kept them. Someone will find my lame jokes absolutely hilarious one day so I might as well keep them. Other times it’s a few musical compositions that I mess around with for the fun of it, and practice later for myself.

After a few jokes and some mini compositions later, the bell rings for class to begin and everyone rushes back to their seats. I place my notebook back into my backpack and prepare myself for class.


	4. Chapter 4

The autumn season comes to a close and winter rolls into town. My days now consisted of practice, studying, and talking to Ennoshita. I threw in a few jokes to him when he feels anxious, especially since the finals came its way to all of us. It seems to make him feel better, but he told me a few times to stop messaging them to me in the middle of class. Of course, like the good friend I am, I don’t.

Laughter is the best medicine as my mom would tell me as a kid, so it’s bound to be true.

After a few weeks talking to him we both decided to meet up at a nearby shopping center during our winter break. On my way there, I bring my violin with me. He told me via text to bring it for our meeting. I didn’t know what it was for since he didn’t fully explain it to me, but I brought it with me anyway. No objections. Who knows, maybe we can play a Christmas carol in the middle of Tokyo! The thought of that gave me the giggles.

When I saw him, he was wearing a light navy jacket, dark pants, and a white scarf. He was carrying what looks like a guitar case on his back. Maybe we will be playing some Christmas carols in the middle of the city after all? Too bad that won’t probably happen since I haven’t played “Silent Night” on my violin for a while, and I sure didn’t prepare myself for it if that was the case.

“Fukunaga!” he waves when he sees me within his sight. I smile back and bow to him. It was nice to see him again after a while of just phone messages and occasional phone calls. “Ah good you brought your violin! Perfect. Let’s get some food. My treat!” he grins.

No Christmas carols in the middle of Tokyo? Splendid! And free food with a good friend? Who could turn that down?! I was happy, but at the same time I thought this offer was a bit too much. What a stupid conflicted feeling, “Ah Ennoshita, you don’t-“

“Oh shut up Fukunaga. It’s not going to be much. I work part time for my family’s business anyway remember?” Ennoshita’s family owns a ramen shop in town and he works as a dishwasher or waiter when he was needed, which is basically every weekend from what I gathered in our many conversations.

“Ah right. Thank you. I’ll return the favor the next time.” I promise as we enter a café not that far from out meet up spot. It was busy to say the least. People were waiting in line for their orders. According to Ennoshita, this café was really popular for their drinks, almost like Starbucks, but made in Japan. He orders a coffee with a donut while I order a green tea latte with a cupcake. We sit towards the back of the café and the meeting began,

“So I had this idea for a while now. A few friends and I have thought about it and wanted to somehow make it a reality. We want to form our own band.” He tells me as I was chewing on my cupcake.

“A band?” I ask, even though I knew what he just told me that. Clarification is always necessary.

Ennoshita nods his head, “Yes. I recently befriended another music prodigy a few months ago, and he seems down with the idea. He was the one who suggested we find a violinist for the band. I already have a guitar, then we have a drummer, a bass player and a pianist. I know I can play both guitar and violin, but I can’t do both at the same time. So… I was wondering if you could be our violinist?” he asks me. I stop chewing. _He wants me to be part of his band???_

“Wow! Really?!” I exclaim which scares the other guy in front of me along with a few people around us. My parents always wanted me to play in an orchestra just like they did, but a band? With a violin? That sounds even better than playing in an orchestra!

Ennoshita laughs as he tries to calm me down, “Yes really. I saw you play with the orchestra and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. You seem like a really good player after all.” He tells me and takes a sip of his coffee, “So what do you think Fukunaga? You down?” I nod my head,

“Yes!” I answer happily.

He laughs at my reaction and hands me a slip of paper, “This is the address to where we practice every Saturday. We usually meet up around 4 pm, but since we’re on holiday break, we like to meet up at 10 am. Sounds good?”

I look at the address. I wasn’t familiar with the place, but that’s what the internet is for. “Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it!”


	5. Chapter 5

Saturday finally came and I took the train to go to band practice. A few stops later, I get off and use my phone GPS to direct me to the destined location. After a few turns later, I find myself standing in front of a big two-story house. I double check the address,

“Hmm, this seems legit.” I mumble to myself as I ring the doorbell. A random person answers the door. He was a tall guy with messy black hair and heavy lidded brown eyes that kind of gives him a sleepy look, but he was…pretty. How is that possible? I don't know.  He looks at me,

“Are you Fukunaga-san?” he asks coolly. I nod my head. He gives me what I think is a smile and directs me inside the house, “Chikara told me a lot about you. It’s finally nice to meet you. I’m Akaashi Keiji.”

So Ennoshita talks about me?

“Ah…nice to meet you too Akaashi-san.” I manage to reply.

“No need to call me Akaashi-san. Akaashi is fine. Anyway, we usually practice in the basement. I’ll show where it is.” He says to me as we enter the hallway and down the stairs. As we walk down the hallway I look at the picture frames on the walls. Most of it were pictures of his family. _Why do his parents look familiar…_ I thought to myself before I hear a loud banging noise and a few guitar sounds coming from the door.

Akaashi opens the door and the volume intensifies, “Oi Bokuto-san! Quit banging so much!” he shouts over the drumming noise. The drummer, Bokuto I guess, stops playing and looks towards us. His golden eyes suddenly lit up like Christmas lights on the evergreen tree when he sees me.

“Oya oya oya?? Akaashi, is that our new violinist?!” He asks as he gets up from his chair and stands in front of me. Before Akaashi could retort he shouts, “You’re a quiet guy! Definitely a violinist indeed!” I didn’t quite understand how being quiet and violin correlated at all, but it must be a theory I have yet to learn. I hear the groans in the distance.

“There he goes again, making a bunch of conclusions about random strangers. Stop that man!” Says a blonde boy with narrow fox-like eyes who was in the middle of tuning his bass.

Akaashi face palms out of embarrassment, “Please excuse his behavior Fukunaga-san. He thinks he’s a psych major sometimes… and he’s full of unlimited energy at times so it’s best not to give into it so much.”

“Akaashi why you got to put me on the spot like that?!” Bokuto whines as Akaashi sighs and continues to make his way to show me around.

I wasn’t too surprised. This Bokuto guy almost reminded of Taketora. Almost. “It’s okay. He reminds of a guy in my orchestra class.” I assure them. The blonde guy laughs, and Akaashi tries to hide his laughter.

Bokuto was definitely not happy with that response since he began to puff up his chest and interrogates me, “What does that supposed to mean? Huh violin boy?” before I could answer him, I hear Ennoshita behind me laughing along with blonde boy,

“Now, now Bokuto-san he was just trying to assure Akaashi that your behavior doesn’t bother him. It’s not anything offensive.” He looks at me and grins, “You made it Fukunaga. I’m guessing you got accustomed to the band members already?”

I shrug casually. The blonde guy walks to me and holds his free hand out to me,

“Almost Ennoshita. I didn’t introduce myself to him yet. I’m Konoha Akinori. I play bass for this band as you can see.” We shake hands as I introduce myself again. Konoha smirks, “Nice to finally meet you man. Heard you got some good jokes up your sleeves Fukunaga. You got this poor guy in trouble in class the other day. Shew! The math teacher was mad at him!” He points at Ennoshita when he tells me this.

“My bad.” I halfheartedly apologize.

Ennoshita chuckles and shakes his head, “It’s quite alright. I needed a few laughs in my life anyway, especially after all those exams! Thank god those are over right?”

Everyone agrees with him unison. Ennoshita clasps his hands back together and says, “Well, now that you have met the entire crew let’s gather up in the practice room. I think Akaashi is waiting for us.” I drop off my bag next to Ennoshita’s luggage and walk with the rest of them into practice room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the BokuAka chronicles never change... lol  
> More chapters coming soon. :)


	6. Chapter 6

I was surprised to see the next room almost look like a studio room with microphones, large stereos, studio quality headphones, music sheet stands, and other instruments lying around the room. Akaashi was already working on something on his desktop. It looked like a music program from what I can see. I wonder if he was the music prodigy that Ennoshita told me earlier in the week.

 He turns around and joins us in the other table where we all sat waiting for him. “Fukunaga how long have you played the violin?” he asks me.

“Since 5.” I reply. The rest of the guys, except Ennoshita, were shocked to hear that I played for about 10 years.

“Ah very dedicated guy…hmm…” he begins to think, “Can you play a sheet music for me?”

I nod my head in response.

Akaashi grabs a random sheet of paper and hands it to me, “I want you to play this piece for me and let me know what you think. I’m not expecting you to play it perfectly since this will be the first time you played this piece so don’t worry about that. As for everyone else, I want you to listen and give us some feedback.”

We all nod our heads. It seems like a simple task, even the loud Bokuto silently listened to him. I take out my violin while Konoha sets up a sheet stand for me. This wasn’t the first time I had to play by myself in front of people to perform a simple piece, but I became nervous. I had zero practice with this new piece of music, and I have to perform it in front of four guys. However, I knew that my expectations were not high according to Akaashi, so that thought helped me put myself at ease.

I glance at Ennoshita, but he was already smiling as if he was trying to reassure me that I’ll be okay. I take a deep breathe place my bow on my violin and began playing the piece that Akaashi gave me. I messed up a few times, but that was expected. As I got comfortable with the music I was able to read the notes, focus on the sound and melody. The mood was soft and peaceful with slow notes and rhythm, but there were bits of melancholy with darker and even slower rhythm. The sheet ends with a sad melody, and I stop playing.

 I look around the room and see everyone gaping at me, even Akaashi looks amazed. I placed my violin down and gave the sheet back to Akaashi, “This was a very good piece. I enjoyed playing it.” I tell him honestly.

“Ah yes, thank you for your opinion. You played very well for someone who hasn’t even practiced this piece. What do you guys think?” the agreement was unanimous. Setting up a good impression wasn’t something that I was known for since I’m used to hiding behind the shadows of everyone else, but seeing that I impressed a few people was an accomplishment for me.

*******************

I have officially became part of the band after that short play. Akaashi shows me around the studio a little more while everyone else starts practicing their own parts of an upcoming song they were working on.

“This is the recording room from instruments to vocals. This microphone is adjustable so you can raise it up a little more when you play your violin.” We leave the recording room and he shows me the desktop, “this is the computer program I use to produce and compose the songs that we have created over the months since we started this band. If you ever want to play around for a bit just let me know. Ennoshita told me that you have composed a few songs on paper before, which is why I am giving you permission to try it out digitally using this program. I don’t normally let someone new use it since I had some…incidents where people messed around with my computer without telling me, and that was a disaster in itself, but considering your calm demeanor and you compose I think you’ll be fine.”

The incidents must’ve been pretty bad for Akaashi to explain that part to me. I didn’t press for any more answers, though I was mildly curious. I’ll find out soon enough from Ennoshita. He gave me a tour to the rest of the mini studio and went out to check up on the other guys. “Alright everyone, let’s do a quick practice session of what we all put together so far. Fukunaga-san you can watch for now. I’ll create your piece after this practice session is over. Is that okay with you?”

I nod my head, “Yea that’s fine.” I took a seat near the stair case and watched them play. The genre from what I hear was a mix between rock and almost heavy metal. Bokuto slams on the drums, Konoha on the bass, Ennoshita on the guitar and Akaashi on a keyboard. Not only was Akaashi playing the keyboard but he was also the lead singer. He has a unique tenor singing voice. Ennoshita and Konoha were the harmonic vocals.

As much as I enjoyed watching these guys play, I couldn’t pay attention because there was one thought that kept crossing my mind as they were playing: _How is a violin going to fit with this kind of mixed genre?_


	7. Chapter 7

Practice ends and the sessions were over. I was to come over every Saturday. By the next week, Akaashi will have my piece ready for me to practice and play. As the other packed their instruments, Ennoshita finds me waiting for him by the door and pats me on the shoulder, “I knew you could do it Fukunaga.” He says to me proudly.

“Thanks. You were a help to me this time.” I tell him, and we both laugh. We said goodbye to the rest of the band members and walk back to the train station. “Ennoshita, I have a concern.” I tell him as we wait for our train to come, “How is a violin going to fit with the genre you guys have?”

He sighs and shrugs his shoulders, “To be honest, I don’t quite understand either. I thought we were pretty solid with what we had, but Akaashi keeps saying that something was missing, and then he said he needed a violinist. He wanted me to do it at first, but I was already set on playing guitar. It would be stupid to switch instruments in the middle of a song you know? So he asked us to find someone who can play the violin for us. We searched for a while, but it didn’t seem to work out for us. They either didn’t want to practice, or were still at novice level. Akaashi is a calm guy, but he has his scary days too.”

 _Mental note to self: don’t piss off Akaashi. The quiet and calm guys are always the scariest ones_. “So what made you want me to play with you guys?” I question him. Ennoshita chuckles quietly and answers,

“Remember when we met at the Fall Orchestra tournament?”

“Yeah?”

“Well I saw you practicing on your own at one point before you guys went up to play. I saw you standing by the fire exit door and heard you play. You played very well on your own. It was too bad I never got to hear a solo from you.” He laughs, “I know that’s kind of creepy and embarrassing, but I thought about practicing over there too, but you already took that spot. However, I wanted to hear you play for a little bit with Akaashi’s thought in mind before I left. That’s when I decided that I should get to know you better.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For considering me to play with you guys. I am grateful.”

“No problem. I’m hoping this piece works well. See you next week Fukunaga!”

“Bye!” I hop on the train and wave back to Ennoshita. It was nice to play some cool tunes with the others and it was very nice of him to consider me this entire time. I smile to myself as I sit down and place my headphones on my ears. I watch as the sky starts getting darker with the Tokyo city lights beaming brighter. The only problem I had now was trying to incorporate this time for the upcoming orchestra, school, and for this band. This was going to be a difficult decision for me since I knew that my parents wanted me to go school for Orchestra when I finish high school. I sigh and place my head against the window and watch the buildings pass by me. I hope I can figure something out.

*******

I come back home and notice an extra pair of shoes in front of my house. _Hmm…that’s weird. No one told me there was going to be a visitor today_... I take my shoes in front of the door and peek into the kitchen as I hear Mom talking to another woman in the dining table,

“Shou-chan has been going to some kind of music practice with his new friends lately. I am so happy for him.” I hear Mom say. The other woman on the other side of my mother smiles back,

“That’s good to hear Kimiko-san! I’m so glad to see him opening himself up more. I remember when he was still small…the poor child didn’t even want to make eye contact!” the women laughs.

“Yes he has grown up indeed! By the way, how is your son Mikako-san?” when she asks this question, the other woman sighs,

“He’s doing well, but it seems that he’s been caught up in some musical band that I disapprove of. He’s been composing music that consists of all those loud drums and bass! It really hurts my head!” she complains.

“Oh it can’t be that bad! I think your son knows what he’s doing. After all you raised such an inspiring musical prodigy in the prefecture. I think he’s just trying to explore something new.” Mom assures her. The other woman, Michiko-san, shakes her,

“This is why I sometimes wonder how we get along Kimiko-san. You are such a wide thinker, but as an orchestra teacher yourself should know that adding drums and bass is nothing but noise. That is not real music. That is loud, obnoxious, noise.”

“But isn’t music really a bunch of noises that are compiled together to create something more beautiful and unique? I think your son is brave in taking that step.”

Michiko-san sighs, “Well when you put it that way dear, I guess you’re right. Thank you for trying to let me see that.” The women chuckle again, “You definitely haven’t changed much since we last met in college Kimiko-san. It’s nice to see that again.”

“Oh no, thank you for coming all the way over here to meet me. Tell me how the band goes okay?” They both stand up and walk towards the door. I scurry away into the living room to hide so they won’t notice me. As they say their greetings my mother closes the door and walks back into the kitchen.

“Mom…who was that?” I ask when I came out from the living room.

Mom chuckles, “That’s my dear friend Akaashi Michiko. She was my senpai back in college. She was one of the best pianists in the prefecture. She comes by from time to time to update on her life and vice versa. She adored you when you were younger.” She answers as she places the plates and cups into the sink to wash them.

I pause when I hear something familiar, “Akaashi?”

“Yes. Her maiden name used to be Kuroki, but she married a doctor whose name was Akaashi Kentaro. So her name was now Akaashi Michiko. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing. Thanks mom. I’m going to practice now.” I run upstairs into my room to look over some old photo albums that Mom tends to leave in my room. I flip through some old photographs of my parents and their college years. I then notice another couple not far from my parents in one of the many orchestra photographs. The couple on the other side were the same people I saw when I was in Akaashi’s house. That’s why they were familiar! I’ve seen them in all the photographs when I was younger and now I see them again. I close the photo album and text Ennoshita my findings. I wonder if Akaashi already knew about me beforehand.


	8. Chapter 8

I show up at Akaashi’s house the next day with the violin in my hand and the photo album in my backpack. Today I will ask him if he already knew about my family…when I can. Ennoshita opens the door and greets me with his infamous smile,

“Hey Fukunaga, thanks for showing up!” I nod my head and enter the house. It was noisy as usual down in the basement. We walk down the stairs, “Are you sure your parents know his?” he asks me as I stop midway, place my violin case to the stair step above me and open my backpack to look through my album.

“Yes I am sure of it! Ah! Look here it is!” I place the photo album next to the formal photo of Akaashi and his parents. Ennoshita looks at them side by side and gasps,

“You’re right! They look alike! I can’t believe your parents knew about each other, but you and Akaashi never met when you guys were younger!”

I shut my photo album and put it back into my backpack, “Apparently his mother knows me, but I don’t remember meeting him.”

“That’s because I was sent to a musical school at a young age.” I hear someone reply behind us. We turn around and see Akaashi standing at the bottom set of the stairs. “My parents figured it was best to send me to a private boarding school for music when I was in elementary school. That’s why you never saw me Fukunaga.”

“Oh…” was all Ennoshita could reply, while I was out of words. Akaashi was sent to boarding school for music as a child. No wonder he knows so much about music. Then again, I wondered if he was also a little bitter about that. With Akaashi it was difficult to tell.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t so bad.” He assures us, “My parents had a lot going on and it was best that I was to go to boarding school. I didn’t mind it so much. Now let’s go. Bokuto-san is getting a little antsy again.” He walks downstairs while Ennoshita and I follow behind. As usual Bokuto was causing ruckus leaving Konoha and Akaashi annoyed to death as they set up the room. As we enter the room I notice a tall blonde guy with glasses and a shorter freckled face kid next to him. They were inside the studio portion of the room.

“Who are they?” I ask Ennoshita as I grab my violin out from the case.

“The guy in the glasses is Tsukishima Kei and the other one is Yamaguchi Tadashi. They come from time to time to help work on the sound system for Akaashi. Both of them are great at editing, but Yamaguchi is awesome at writing lyrics.”

I turn to see the timid freckle face kid who was listening to the Tsukishima guy talking about something to him. They seem like really nice people…at least the Yamaguchi guy does. They come out of the sound room and walk towards the studio,

“Is this the new violinist Akaashi?” Yamaguchi asks as he approaches me.

Akaashi nods his head, “Yes, this is Fukunaga. He came all the way from Enoshima to be with us to practice. Ennoshita was the one who recruited him.”

“Nice! It’s nice to meet you Fukunaga-san! I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi.” He grins at me. He wasn’t as timid as I thought he would be. Looks sure can be deceiving. Judging is bad too (remember kids don’t judge like I did just now, okay?).

“Hello.” I reply. Tsukishima looks at me with what I think was a glare (or annoyed, I couldn’t tell with that RBF he had going on) and turns back to Akaashi,

“Did you give him the sheet music for his part yet?”

“Yeah. He has it in front of him. Are you all ready?” He asks the rest of us. Bokuto hoots with Konoha giving him a thumbs up. Ennoshita nods his head and I do the same. “We’re good. Let us know when to play Tsukishima.” Akaashi replies. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi walk back into the sound room. Tsukishima raises his hand in the air and that was the cue to play. The band starts off with Ennoshita, Konoha, and Bokuto playing according to the sheet music that I was given. I wait for my turn to play. It wasn’t long before I had to join in. As soon as I played a few notes Tsukishima holds his hand back up again,

“You guys are off by a lot.” Tsukishima says over the intercom. Everyone stops playing as Akaashi walks into the studio room.

“Where are we off Tsukishima?” he asks as he and Tsukishima go through the musical notes.

“Right around here. The drum and the guitar are completely overpowering the violin. We need to add some space to have the violin stand out at this part of the song.” He explains. Akaashi nods his head and changes up something on the computer. After a few short practices and instrumental changes later, we were finally able to place the first part of the song together. To my surprise with the help of Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, the first part turned out very well.

“This is good. I want to keep this.” Akaashi tells us as we place our instruments down to take a break. Ennoshita nods his head,

“You guys did a god job! You learn really fast Fukunaga!” he laughs as everyone else agrees with me.

“Ah, thank you.” I answer coyly.

“Welcome to the team Fukunaga!” Bokuto shouts from behind and places his buff arms around my shoulders. If I didn’t know that he was actually so simple-minded and dorky I’m sure my first impression of him would be that he might just be able to kill me with those arms.

“Thank you?” I hesitate.

Bokuto gives me an offended look, “What are you questioning my sincere remark? You sure have a lot to learn young man!”

“But you’re a young man too.” I remind him quietly. This made everyone laugh though. Bokuto sighs heavily and lets me go,

“You definitely got a lot to learn kid!” he fights back. I laugh this time along with the other members. This was another good day for me. I haven’t never been surrounded with a bunch of good people outside of the classroom setting in my life. I turn to look at Ennoshita, who stops laughing briefly to give me a warm smile and we continue laughing again as Bokuto, Konoha, and Akaashi have a quarrel about the most meaningless things.


	9. Chapter 9

My life has been filled with nothing but music lately. Although this is not unusual for me, I am now surrounded by different types of genre of music than I have never listened to before. I am not only in the school orchestra, I am also in a band, which I learned they call themselves Rebellion Avenue. I wasn’t sure why they chose that name at first, but once Ennoshita explained it to me,

“Why are we called “Rebellion Avenue” Ennoshita?” I asked one day as we finished another round of practice. Ennoshita tied his shoelaces and glanced up at me,

“Ah, Akaashi never told you?” he asked me. I shook my head. Ennoshita then explained, “Well it was Akaashi’s idea. His family has been against him creating this band for many years ever since he came back from boarding school. So he gathered up a few us slowly over time and we got together. He wanted to challenge the music world by adding a few orchestra pieces in different genres of music, which was where the “Rebellion” came from. The name came with the inspiration of fighting against the normal orchestra setting. As for the “Avenue” part…well that was Bokuto’s idea. If we didn’t add that, he would have a fit so we added that in just so he doesn’t get to that point. But I think it worked out well.”

“Ah, I see. Wow. Bokuto-san sounds pretty troublesome. Who would’ve thought?” I told him.

Ennoshita laughed as we walked down to the train station, “Yeah, but he’s a really good guy at heart. He just doesn’t know how to control his emotions very well sometimes. It’s amazing how Akaashi got Bokuto to play the drums for us through. Those two have such opposite personalities.”

“It seems that Bokuto-san looks up to Akaashi a lot to me.” I stated.

Ennoshita nodded his head, “He does. They met in a volleyball club last year and they’ve been friends ever since. Konoha met them that way too.”

“So all three of those guys knew each other before huh? What about you? How did you get involved in the band?”

Ennoshita shrugged, “Well I guess it started off with a photography class that Akaashi and I took earlier last year as well. I never met him before, but I noticed that he was an excellent photographer. We started talking and that’s when I learned that he was also in the process of gathering members for a band and needed a guitar player. And that’s how I got involved.” He grinned, “Akaashi somehow brought all of us together. When I mentioned you he seemed really interested compared to the other guys who we tried to recruit. So welcome to the club man!” Ennoshita slammed his hand on my shoulder. I fought right back and we spent the rest of the walk fighting and poking jokes at each other to see who will laugh the most easiest. I won, of course.

*************

“Ennoshita you are in a band?!” screams Taketora when I updated him on what I have been doing lately, “That’s hella cool! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” he shouts at me again. Kenma who covers his right ear due to Taketora’s screaming looks up at him with an annoyed look on his face,

“Taketora, there’s no need to scream like that. We can all hear you loud and clear…this buffoon.” He mumbles to himself while continuing to play his PSP.

“What did you say Kenma?”

“You heard me.”

Taketora changes his focus on Kenma, and I was back to my peaceful world. Taking out the usual notebook with my usual junk writing and scribbles, I began to doodle. One of the things I started doodling was a comical version of Ennoshita. I don’t know why, but he keeps popping up in my mind lately. Ever since I met him, I have experienced so many new things that I haven’t experienced before. He introduced me to his band friends, dealt with my jokes in the middle of class despite getting in trouble multiple times, and went out of his way to tell Akaashi about me. Maybe this is what it’s meant to be in high school. Maybe high school wasn’t so bad after all.

“You seem cheerful lately. What’s up?” Yaku asks me one day before orchestra practice. I smile,

“You think so? I guess that’s a good thing. I made a few new friends from the other schools. It’s been fun.” I tell him. Yaku laughs,

“Normally you have such a poker face I can never tell what you’re feeling, but from the recent looks, you seem happier. I am glad that you’re happy.” He tells me as he grabs his clarinet from his case, “Keep up the good work Fukunaga.” He pats me on the back and walks to his section. The rest of the day all I could think about next Saturday and seeing Ennoshita and the others again.


End file.
